Toronto, Ontario – On Saturday, October 24th 1,000 high school students piled into the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library to seek out a place to volunteer their time.

The first ever “Youth Expo” hosted by Volunteer Toronto, invited over 75 non-profit and grassroots organizations from across Toronto to set up booths and connect with interested students.

“It was heartening to see so many high school students give up their Saturday in order to find a place to volunteer their time. It really speaks to the passion and commitment of today’s youth“ says David Allen, Volunteer Toronto’s Executive Director.

Emily Parisian from the Riverdale Housing Action Group described the event as “An amazing opportunity for youth and also all the organizations. I wish I had something like this going on when I was in high school! Only two days have passed and we have already had many inquiries into volunteering for our Halloween party, holiday party, and so on. “

“I liked how there were various organizations, like helping the homeless and caring about our environment. The people and the volunteers had a positive attitude and were very friendly” said one attendee.

Volunteer Toronto hopes to bring back the event next year and will be looking to work with the school boards to broaden their reach.